The Cambridge Constitutional History Of The United Kingdom Volume 2 The Changing Constitution

Featuring contributions from leading scholars of history, law and politics, this path-breaking work traces the development of the United Kingdom's constitution from Anglo-Saxon times and explores its role in the creation, exercise and control of public power. Essays in Volume Two, entitled 'The Changing Constitution', examine the development of the constitution from the departure of the Romans up to the present day and beyond. Together, the two volumes form the first, wide-ranging history of the constitution to be published for more than 50 years. By its cross-disciplinary approach, taking account of the latest legal, political and historical scholarship on the constitution, it fills a large gap in the literature of the constitution, and in political thought and British history.

"This ground-breaking volume brings together the methods and insights of historians, lawyers and students of politics to give readers an appreciation not only of the historical development, legal nature and political importance of the constitution, but also of its general relevance to all aspects of human social life"--

An appreciation of the development and evolution of the United Kingdom constitution is vital in order to understand the existing nature of the constitution, proposals for reform and the many complex challenges it faces. Ann Lyon presents a vivid overview of fourteen hundred years of English legal history taking us on a rich journey from a feudal society to the fractured Union of the present day. Drawing on key constitutional themes, Constitutional History of the United Kingdom provides insight and context to modern constitutional problems. This second edition has been revised and updated to bring coverage up to the present day, including parliamentary reform; the Scottish referendum on independence and further drives for enhanced devolution; the effect of EU membership on the UK Constitution; and the impact of the European Convention on Human Rights and the Human Rights Act 1998. Constitutional History of the United Kingdom offers an accessible and highly valuable overview for students with little or no prior knowledge of British history.

The Changing Constitution provides concise, scholarly and thought-provoking essays on the key issues surrounding the UK's constitutional development, and the current debates around reform.

Originally published: Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1908. xxviii, 547 pp. Although Maitland never intended to publish these lectures, they have long been regarded as one of the best introductions to the English Constitution. Delivered in the winter of 1887 and spring of 1888, and edited and published in 1908 by one of Maitland's students, Herbert A.L. Fisher, they cover the period from 1066 to the end of the nineteenth century. Rather than a narrative historical format, they focus on describing the work of the constitution during five distinct moments in English history: 1307, 1509, 1625, 1702 and 1887. They provide an entry to some of the major concepts he later expounded in his seminal work written with Sir Frederick Pollock, The History of English Law. Widely considered the father of modern legal history, FREDERIC WILLIAM MAITLAND 1850-1906] was an English jurist and historian best known for The History of English Law Before the Time of Edward I (1895), written with Sir Frederick Pollock. He was educated at Eton and Cambridge and studied at Lincoln's Inn, London. Maitland was called to the bar in1876 and practiced until 1884, when he became a reader in English law (1884) and professor (1888) at Cambridge. He founded the Selden Society in 1887. Hailed for his original outlook on history, his works had a profound influence on legal scholarship and remain important today.